Muzzleloader Hunting Des Moines IA

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Hunting With a Muzzleloader Tips

Author:

Critter

Are you headed out into the hills this year with your old smoke-pole? If so you may want to read this.

So dig it out of the closet and give it a good cleaning to get started. Then head out to the range. Now if you are a multi weapon hunter it may take a little bit of time to get reaccustomed to that smoke pole so now is the time to do it. Some states alow some kind of optic for a sight while others require only open sights so it may be different from your high power rifle. So doing a little bit of shooting will help you get reaccustomed to how the rifle fits and get you onto the target.

Depending on the muzzleloader that you are shooting you may be able to fire quite a few shots before fouling starts and it is harder to reload so do it accordingly to what you have. I have found that with both my Thompson Center Renegade and Triumph that as few as 5 shots can foul the barrel to where it starts to affect accuracy. On the Renegade I'll run a cleaning patch through it every couple of shots and on the Triumph when I am shooting saboted loads I'll run a patch which I have sprayed with Windex through it every couple of rounds. This works for me and may for you. I'll try to fire at least 50 shots to get back to where I have no problem with either rifle.

I'll also pack one of the muzzleloaders with me when I am doing preseason hiking to get used to the weight. Also when ever I spot a rabbit, bird, or some other kind of animal I'll pick a spot...

Muzzleloader Hunting: A Beginner's Guide

Each year more hunters are discovering the thrill of muzzleloader hunting. There are several advantages to a muzzleloader hunt over traditional rifle hunting. In the Western states in particular, there are special muzzleloader seasons that traditionally coincide with the peak of the elk rut. Licenses are limited, so there are few hunters in the woods. Depending on the location and the skill of the caller, bulls can be bugled in to close ranges. All in all, it makes for a very exciting hunt.

However, there is a learning curve to becoming a proficient muzzleloader hunter, and chances are, you’ll make every mistake in the book at least once. You’ll see some mighty fine bulls get away from a situation where it would be “meat in the pot” with a high-powered scoped rifle.

For those who are unfamiliar with muzzleloaders, allow me to explain. Muzzleloaders are the weapons that Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone carried afield with them during their bear hunts, Indian fights, and battles. Today there are two basic types of muzzleloaders used for hunting—primitive and in-line. Both are based upon the premise that the shooter pours powder down the end of the gunbarrel, then rams a slug or ball down on top of it to load the gun.

Primitive muzzleloader aficionados must choose between either a flintlock or a caplock ignition system. A flintlock is the more primitive technology, popular from the time of the Revolutionary War through the early 1800’s. The hammer of the gun holds a piece of flint wrapped in fine leather. Below the hammer is a frizzen, a swinging metal plate. Below the frizzen is the pan, into which the shooter pours a small amount of fine black powder. When the shooter pulls the trigger, the hammer strikes the frizzen, the frizzen folds back, and sparks are showered into the black powder in the pan. The ignited powder in the pan shoots a tongue of flame into the barrel of the gun via a small port. In turn, this flame ignites the black powder that has been poured into the barrel. The powder explodes, forcing the ball that has been seated on top of it to shoot out the barrel.

This process sounds cumbersome, and it is. Ignition is not instantaneous. Flintlock shooters have to hold steady for a second or more while an explosion occurs under their eyes. The possibility for error is very real.

The more modern of the primitive technologies is the caplock design. Caplock muzzleloaders use the same basic concept of funneling flame into a port in the barrel, but the ignition is accomplished through a small nipple seated under the gun’s hammer. A small copper cap with a tiny bit of nitroglycerine is placed atop the nipple. When the hammer falls, the cap shoots a tiny spurt of flame through the nipple and into the port in the barrel, igniting the powder inside and shooting the ball out the barrel. Ignition is much more rapid than the ...

The Joys of Muzzleloader Shooting

Muzzleloaders are a lot of fun to shoot! The concept of a single shot makes shooters try to do their best on every shot. Large puffs of smoke belching from the muzzle after each shot, makes this a very visual shooting sport. As well, muzzleloaders are capable of firing a variety of bullet weights and powder charges, giving them the ability to be a multi species firearm.

For years, people have shot muzzleloading guns. Most shooters fired old style flintlock guns with open sights. Some shooters found these early muzzleloading firearms reminded them of their forefathers and helped these individuals re-live the past. However, for many shooters, these guns were unappealing, inaccurate and were a royal pain in the butt to shoot and clean. Thus, there were a very limited number of people involved in muzzleloader shooting and hunting.

Over the course of the past several years, the interest in muzzleloaders and muzzleloader hunting has grown and continues to grow. Much of this growth is due to several gun manufacturers developing inline muzzleloading rifles that are built with today's technology, using yesterday's ideas. These fine firearms are fun and easy to use, have high percentage ignitions and are highly accurate. In addition, they're easy to disassemble and clean.

These new muzzleloading guns resemble modern centre-fire rifles. They have excellent safety mechanisms and precision rifled barrels. Many of them come tapped and died directly from the factory, so all a shooter has to do is add bases, rings and a scope. It's very common these days for shooters using in-line muzzleloaders with scopes to achieve one inch groups or better at a hundred yards.

Along with the invention of new muzzleloaders, there has also been a major advancement in gun cleaning solutions. There are all kinds of effective no fuss, no mess gun cleaning solutions designed specifically for muzzleloaders. These new cleaning chemicals make cleaning muzzleloaders a breeze. With these new products, gone are the hours of cleaning after each session at the range or in the field!

Hunters are also quickly discovering that muzzleloaders offer new hunting seasons, high levels of success and many other unique opportunities.

Extra Seasons and Hunting Benefits Many states and provinces, including my home province of Saskatchewan offer special muzzleloader hunting seasons that are separate from regular rifle seasons. Many of these special seasons are approximately a month before the regular rifle hunting seasons and are often set up to coincide with or run just before the peak rut of the big game species. Hunting with a muzzleloader during these bonus time periods can prove very exciting and productive. Antelope, deer, moose and elk become more mobile and visible just prior to and during their rutting periods as they try to prove their dominance or search for mates.

In many jurisdictions, special muzzleloading seasons are often held after all other hunting seasons are over. Typicall...